I'm thinking about running a role play set in the 'verse of Joss Whedon's Firefly.

The characters would be free traders/operatives on a ship on the fringe of the system, servicing the border planets and avoiding trouble with the feds. The setting gives us a nice background alternating between planet-side action and travel time on the ship were characters might 'get to know' each other better.

I would prefer original characters, so we are not constrained to the cast of the series, but I figure the general tone and attitude would be similar to the series.

Firefly has indentured servitude (which everyone seems to accept) and slavery (which is illegal but common), so I'd like to work these into a BDSMy context. Not to mention that the 'Independence' is basically the Confederate States during the American civil war. And we all know what they were fighting for. So in my interpretation of the 'verse, an honorable gent who fought for the independence during the war might always keep his word, be polite to the ladies, never back down from a fight....aaand cling to his pre-war interpretation of 'personal property'.

If you are interested in playing, please speak up. Maybe even with a short description of the character you want to play or what kind of action you want to see in the roleplay. Also, I'm not sure if we want to have this as freeform roleplaying (just writing) or as a system game (with rules that define wether your character can accomplish a given task or not). So please also state your preference for one or the other.

I am definitely interested and would prefer a system, as what made Firefly missions interesting was that things always went wrong and became challenging in different ways, requiring some skill/luck to get through. I would prefer to play an ex-Alliance pilot/mechanic, pretty lazy type who got out and got a job doin what he knew. I'd be willing to play him as the owner of the ship, but not as the captain, so there could be an interesting dynamic there.

I'd love to participate in this, preferably as a gung-ho mercenary to deal with the problems the crew would face on a regular basis. Ofcourse this would make me the slightly more aggresive person, as to preferring solving problems with fisticuffs and bullets than with words.

Nice to see such lively interest in my proposal. We have pilot, mechanic and 'public relations' covered it seems. There is still more room but I think the minimum crew is there. No one so far has taken up the captain and I was thinking that maybe I should play him as an NPC so I can give a bit of direction to the roleplay.

I have heard two voices in favor of system play and I think we are going to do it. It will be something very bare-bone, though. We can't really have full pen-and-paper combat in a forum play. That would take too much time. Personally, I'm partial to story-teller-system as it is somewhat realistic without being complex. I'm open to suggestions, though.

Story-wise, what are we looking at? What are your allegiances? We have an ex-alliance guy but that could mean anything depending on how he parted ways with his employer. What about the rest of you? Anyone fought for the independence?

Also, you will likely be criminals. At the very least, your business will be in the 'grey' zone. But how 'hard' are you? Do you stop to help the lost settlers? Are random dead bodies acceptable on the job? What about slavery? Not everyone has to be on the same page here (its a great source of conflict between characters, after all) but I would like to get the feel for the attitude on the ships.

Last but not least, there is sex. Of course not every roleplay has to be about it, but this is an adult forum so... How much sex do you guys want to have in this? And what kind? Personally, (and I put this into the description) I'm partial to a little bit of slavery and BDSM. So sex-wise this would probably go into the 'NC' section of the forum but you are certainly not limited to nonconsent. Just saying that it probably will make an appearance in some form and that you should be okay with it.By the way: if anyone wants his or her character to be an indentured servant or a slave, now is the time to speak up. This won't necessarily prevent you from doing an important and meaningful job on board the ship. Even medics and mechanics can fall on hard times, after all.

I am pretty open on system. They all have their flaws after all. I just want a system that will cover combat, repairs, piloting, and social mechanics against NPCs (the last part only if our companion wants it).

Well, I am a little flexible on my character's feelings on the alliance, but he he won't be outright antagonistic. After all, the Alliance did give him a solid education, good training, a nice job and left him with some money, so he can't get too up in arms against them. I plan on his separation having been uneventful.

My character will not be against slavery (may be enticed to enjoy a slave, though not too roughly), but he is not extremely fond of risk. He is, however, uninterested in the decision making. This is why I like the angle of him being the owner but having hired a captain to run things and make the decisions.

As for sex, I enjoy sexual stimulation in my RP, but don't need a lot. I'm not a fan of non-con, and will likely play him the same way, but if the victim is an owned slave, then he might be able to just be uncomfortable with it.

I'm a fan of a heavier style for out of ship and a lighter style inside of it, in spaaaaaace.

For my sake, my character basically follows the money. He goes with the crew mostly because of the possibility of some hard cash. My past has been a simple one. Grew up on a small, rural planet and left on the first ticket out of there for the action and the money. Most of the adult life has been going from one job to the other, sparring with the law and having spent over 7 months in correctional facilities as punishment for past "jobs".

As a mercenary I do everything for the money yet I have a strong sense of loyalty towards the boss. I'll do everything but betray the person who signs my checks. This implies that I have no problem with beating up, stabbing, shooting, etc people. Picking up, transporting and selling slaves is just another way to make the bucks.

I would be interested just wondering if will be using the serenity system and hmm I cant decide between a former brown coat sabtoage artist or a disallusuoned intelligence officer of the alliance that has run to the fringe to live

Personality: Keri is a very laid back sort of girl. In general, she doesn't bother herself with matters of morality too much though she is the sort that is naturally kind and, if able, willing to help those in need. Her loyalty lies with the crew of her ship, who are a sort of replacement family for her and helping a stranger will never come before keeping her crew safe. She intelligent and learns new skills quickly but, having grown up on an outer planet, not as educated as she could have been had she grown up in the Core. She has a thirst for adventure and freedom that keeps her flying fast and, sometimes, laughing when a job turns dangerous and pushes her skills to their limits.

Background: Growing up on the outer planets she didn't have the access to education and technology that those in the inner core did but that didn't stop her from learning everything she could. Especially when it came to flying and navigation. Having a head for science and numbers she learned all that she could about the theory behind different ships, how they worked, how/why they flew, what common problems with them were, and how to push them to their limits.

She fought for the Independants in the War but more to fulfill her need for adventure and to get the chance to fly ships she never thought she'd get the chance to even board otherwise, than from any real sense of commitment to the cause. granted, she found the Alliance government, in general, to be a bunch of pompous old windbag with only their own self interests at heart, but nothing of the histories she'd made her think that any other government would actually be better either.

By the end of the war, her parents (and only family) were dead and she had a reputation as a superb pilot by those who would know. With no family to return to, she used her reputation to garner jobs until she found a ship, and crew, she actually wanted to stay with for more than just a simple job and payoff.

I am very interested and will sacrifice a chicken, well a nugget anyway, to play. I would like to play a gambler, a confidence artist, a gentile plunderer of baubles left untended. A scoundrel in the most genteel sense.

That's a good question. It will depend, I suppose, on whether or not we start out with the ship in port, looking for cargo and passengers, or if we're already in space. Honestly, I am not sure the character would be very good as a crewmember.

So, here's the concept I have so far. Let me know if there's anything I need to fix.

He's a med school dropout, who left the Core during the war to come out and fight (and heal) for Independence, on the grounds of... well, he wants everyone to be independent. In the aftermath, he joined on with a decent enough mercenary company, but later dropped out to join up with a smuggling ship. He doesn't see eye-to-eye with everyone onboard on the subject of slavery, especially considering that his "everyone deserves independence" mantra applies to slaves as well.

The captain could own a slave that the captain uses as a reward to the crew. Maybe the captain accidentally did something noble and saved the slave's life, and in her culture if someone saves your life you owe your life to them (like Chewbacca to Han Solo).

Except the captain really takes advantage of it.

And the slave likes it.

There could also be a pimp aspect to it, taking the slave from place to place to have her provide services to clientele.

I would also consider playing the captain as a bisexual female.

Also, it would be fun to have some sexual/romantic tension with crew members.

Personality: Very bright and very lazy. He dislikes being alone, and generally is willing to go a bit out of his way for sake of company. While not wealthy or particularly well-bred, he doesn't fit in too well with fringer types, as he clearly enjoys creature comforts. He refers to himself as an engineer rather than mechanic, something that he knows earns a chuckle from the lower class types, but it doesn't bother him. He does not like making difficult decisions or managing things, so he wanted someone on the crew to take the mantle of captain, offering a little extra share of the profits for the burden.

Background: Lance had a fairly straightforward, middle-class upbringing well inside the Core Worlds. After part of a proper education ended by lack of study habits, Lance decided to join the Alliance, and found he enjoyed it well enough, volunteering for the longer hauls on cargo birds when he could. He lucked out on a couple and found a pilot that enjoyed company as much as he did, and he learned a bit about piloting as well. He saved up quite a bit of money and once he got out managed a small business working on his own, running a small freighter by himself. He was making a small profit, but wasn't happy with the workload or the lack of companionship, so when he had the chance to buy a larger ship, he jumped at the chance and went to hiring.

Vin, I am worried that your focus is for a game that kinda centers around BDSM, which I admit bothers me a bit. I think sexual elements of any kind shouldn't overshadow the story, especially a single element.

Glad to see that folks like Keri. I'll flesh her out a bit more when I see what direction we seem to be headed in.

Probably won't post much for a couple of days. I work 12 hour shifts tomorrow and wednesday and if they're busy they tend to just leave me too wiped to really focus. Will start throwing my two cents worth around again by Thursday! :)